A number of organizations have formed to promote women’s contributions to technology, with a focus on developing career paths, technical expertise, visibility in the field, and more.
In fact, at Acceleration Economy, our parent company’s annual Summit North America event hosts a Women in Tech journey that brings together female leaders from the Microsoft enterprise application ecosystem to network with other women and learn from and stimulating discussions. I had the privilege of playing an organizing role in this gathering in the fall of 2022.
So I was thrilled to have recently had the opportunity to meet a leader of another organization that helps advance women’s contributions to the tech sector: Women in Process Mining, or WIPM. This organization provides a community for women to build their leadership skills, learn about mining, and amplify their influence.
How Women in Process Mining was founded
Towards the end of 2021, Christine Hunter, Vice President of Field Marketing, North America at Celonis, had the opportunity to learn about organizations designed to help women advance in technology fields. This prompted her to begin researching and identifying the need for a community to serve women in the mining space. Celonis, a pioneer in the field of process mining, is one of the top 10 AI/Hyperautomation vendors selected by Acceleration Economy practitioner analysts.
During this process, she met Gabriela Galic, director, Deloitte, who had “Women in Process Mining” at the top of her LinkedIn profile. When she logged on to Galic, the duo realized that they both had a desire to create a community specific to the discipline of process mining.
In early 2022, their plans began to fall into place. Hunter and Galic also reached out to Natalie Wolf (Customer Success Consultant, Wolf Consulting), Dina Tzonev (Senior Director, Celonis), and Julie Bruce (Director, Customer Value, Celonis). Together, they created the Women in Process Mining community, envisioning it as a place where women in the field can amplify their influence and build their leadership skills.
“We wanted to stick together and pave the way for process mining and other generations to come.”
Christine Hunter, Vice President of Celonis
The founding members knew they wanted a community, even though they all had different ideas of what the community would look like. They coalesced around three key areas that the group would focus on:
- Online community: a permanent place where women can connect and receive content and resources to learn
- Virtual and in-person gatherings: bring women together for a more formal structure, hold roundtables and hear a combination of consultants and end-user clients share their best practices
- Mentoring program: a matchmaking program through submissions on their website where members can apply to be mentors or mentees
“We wanted to strengthen their leadership. We wanted to amplify their influence – the influence they already have within their organizations,” says Hunter. “And we wanted to stick together and pave the way for process mining and other generations to come.”
Overcoming Challenges in the Processing Mining Industry
Women in Process Mining aims to connect female leaders who work in process mining, study technology concepts or do research in the field. The organization enables women’s voices to be heard while creating a community for sharing best practices. It provides a global network for women to learn from each other, helping to shape the future of process mining technology and the digital transformation space together.
A lot of research assesses female representation in tech – and how limited that representation is currently. The founders of Women in Process Mining collectively recognize that there is plenty of room for growth. Their ongoing work aims to answer key questions:
- How do you find a way to make sure women know there are opportunities in this space?
- How are women made aware of this technology?
- How do they see other women in process mining?
- How are they supported at the start of their journey in this technological landscape?
Paving the way for future generations
“I really believe that representation is important. When you see someone who looks like you in a space you may or may not have been in before, or maybe you didn’t even know existed, once you see them, you start connecting the dots like, ‘Oh maybe this is an opportunity for me too,’” says Hunter.
Women in Process Mining wants to continue to build on the organization’s progress to date to invite more women so they can represent future generations and feel supported once they are in this segment of the mining market. technology.
Hunter insists that individuals don’t need to have a background in technology to join Women in Process Mining – they just need to have an interest and a willingness to learn. “Whether you’re on the marketing side, content creator or video production… maybe you’re on the technical side or services or consulting… there are so many different roles in technology.” It’s not a one-time journey to get involved in technology.
While it’s important for women to create change, it’s also important to partner alongside allies and be a welcoming voice in the industry. The three pillars – the online community, virtual and in-person gatherings, and the mentorship program – enabled women in mining to immerse themselves in the community and connect with allies.
For example, mentorship offers women the opportunity for two-way learning and connection to advance in their careers. Mentors with more experience may come back to help a mentee who is at an early stage in their career. Additionally, the organization is in talks with various universities to provide students with training and mentorship around process exploration. These relationships with universities begin either through personal relationships that women in the community have with a university or through the Celonis Academic Alliance program.
“It’s very important to connect to larger communities to network and develop our own personal learning,” says Hunter.
Women in Process Mining at Celosphere 2022
During Celosphere 2022, Celonis’ annual customer conference held in November, the organization hosted a panel discussion where panelists shared their personal journeys on how they got involved in process exploration. as well as how they are advancing digital transformation initiatives within their own organizations. They talked about building high-performing teams and how diversity, not only of people but also of thoughts, is key to leading the way forward.
In fact, “creating new perspectives” was a major theme at Celosphere. “When you have a diverse set of voices or thoughts, you can bring new perspectives to the table. It’s so important to keep innovating within a company and moving your business forward,” says Hunter. Other key takeaways include discussions about why representation really matters and not being afraid to fail.
Outlook 2023
Hunter said she was excited for another year with the Women in Process Mining community. Over the next year, they look forward to expanding the network globally, as they look forward to welcoming more women and allies into the community.
They plan to expand their mentorship program by hosting more networking and education events, both virtually and in person. Additionally, they will partner with universities as well as other end-user and customer organizations.
These expansions will allow Women in Process Mining to continue to propel its mission: to make women’s voices heard, amplify their influence, and pave the way for increased leadership and representation in process mining.
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